Friday, October 8, 2010

Funeral planning

When I was growing up my paternal grandmother was very open about things that were going on with her. For instance, I knew things about caring for someone with diabetes that most children didn’t know. She ensured that I knew how she gave herself insulin, where medical supplies and medicines were kept and, in the case of an emergency, what to do, how to get help and what to tell people.

As she got older she began telling me her final plans like where her will was located, how she wanted her personal items distributed and even what she wanted to wear. And, most importantly, my grandmother had done her funeral planning.

At the time I thought she was being “overly organized” and it wasn’t a subject I wanted to talk about. As her health began to fail and she started have more incidences, accidents and hospital stays it became obvious that it was a subject that had to be addressed.

When making funeral arrangements there are a lot of questions that loved ones need answered and, thankfully, my grandmother had already found the answers. She’d already informed us that she wanted to be buried instead of cremated, she knew what type of service she would have and where she would be buried. (These are details every family has to work out.) All of her wishes were met and the arrangements made easier by her advanced planning.